. >>> by now, i know you have all heard of the so-called fiscal cliff, the huge tax hikes and spending cuts that will be triggered if congress and the white house don't reach a budget deal by the end of the month. well, what are we looking at? first, cuts in defense. also bush era tax cuts set to x expire, so the majority of americans will pay more taxes. also at stake, the payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits expect to get cut. dana, in your most recent column, you say it doesn't seem like anyone is doing anything but photo ops and news conferences. one politician was quoted as saying, effectively, we have a month. that's loads of time. is this a sophisticated game of chicken? >> it's a rather unsophisticated game of chicken, kind of elementary. what they're doing, both sides really, is doing a lot of posturing and waiting until they get close to the deadline if not go over the deadline because they feel if they go over the deadline, they're in a position to tell their hard core supporters, look, we have really got to make this deal now or that's the end. the economy goes bac